SPECIAL TRAVERSE

pleading. A technical special traverse begins in most cases, with the words absque hoc, (without this,) which words in pleading form a technical form of negation. 2. A traverse commencing with these words is special, because, when it thus commences, the inducement and the negation are regularly both special; the former consisting of new matter, and the latter pursuing, in general, the words of the allegation traversed, or at least those of them which are material. For example, if the defendant pleads title to land in himself, by alleging that Peter devised the land to him, and then died seised in fee; and the plaintiff replies that Peter died seised in fee intestate, and alleges title in himself, as heir of Peter without this, that Peter devised the land to the defendant; the traverse is special. Here the allegation of Peter’s intestacy, forms the special inducement; and the absque hoc, with what follows it, is a special denial of the alleged devise, i.e. a denial of it in the words of the allegation.